News from CILIP Youth Libraries Group - March 2012

March always feels like a month of promise – the clocks go forward,
heralding the start of lighter nights and spring and the possibilities
of the good summer we are always promised ( I know it usually doesn’t
materialise but we have to be hopeful that this
year it will!! ) This month you can look forward to another bumper
packed issue full of information and some great give-away offers from
our publisher friends. Hope you enjoy browsing through it and don’t
forget – if there are any features or new categories
that you think would be helpful to you and that you would like to
suggest for inclusion in future newsletters please let us know.

******************************************************************************************
FEATURED PUBLISHER OFFER:
******************************************************************************************
CHILD’S PLAY (INTERNATIONAL) LTD
Children’s Books Consultant and YLG Honorary Life Member, Wendy Cooling
is so excited about ‘Rabbityness’ by Jo Empson being published this
month by Child’s Play that she can’t wait to tell you about it!
“An exciting new talent has entered the world of children’s books; Jo
Empson’s first picture book is fresh, quirky and wonderfully designed, a
complete book to go back to again and again. ‘Rabbityness’, as the
title and cover suggest, is set in the world of
rabbits and in this world, a little removed from our own, the
author/illustrator tackles the difficult subject of loss. The book is
very child-friendly and will enable readers to think about loss and come
to understand that there is joy in memories and in
the future, as well as times of sadness. Many children simply see the
fun of the book and want to do some Rabbity painting, but the real magic
of it is that it quietly speaks to the child who needs its message.

The text is a treat to read aloud and the words leap through the pages
just like Rabbit, the most extrovert of rabbits, does. He does lots of
rabbity things but he also loves to paint and make music, in fact do
unrabbity things. His disappearance is a blow
to his friends but he has not left without thinking about them and
enabling them to experience the joy of doing unrabbity things too.
The illustrations and the words work perfectly together to give the
story both colour and wonder. Jo Empson uses colour with great
confidence and so in fact it’s words, pictures, colour and design
working together to make a complete book - don’t miss the end
-papers as they’re part of the story too. This book will stay with me
always, I love it and I love the look in children’s eyes as they notice
the difference between front and back end-papers. Look carefully, enjoy -
and yes get your paint brushes out - and
join me in the queue of people looking forward to this illustrator’s
next book.”
Rabbityness by Jo Empson will be available to buy in April.